Juárez Competitiva event inspired by Tijuana Innovadora

Hundreds of Ciudad Juarez residents flocked to an open-air astronomy lecture last week as part of Juárez Competitiva. Modeled after last October's Tijuana Innovadora celebration, the two-week series of conferences, concerts and other events aim to change the city's violent image.
— Ignacio Mendoza/Juárez Competitiva

Hundreds of Ciudad Juarez residents flocked to an open-air astronomy lecture last week as part of Juárez Competitiva. Modeled after last October's Tijuana Innovadora celebration, the two-week series of conferences, concerts and other events aim to change the city's violent image.
/ Ignacio Mendoza/Juárez Competitiva

Borrowing an idea from last October's Tijuana Innovadora event, Ciudad Juárez is hosting a series of conferences and concerts aimed at shaking off the city's violent reputation and generating interest from investors.

Dubbed Juárez Competitiva, the event started Wednesday and is scheduled to continue through Oct. 28th. President Felipe Calderón last Thursday led the list of keynote speakers. Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the former Soviet Union, spoke today and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is scheduled to give a talk next Monday.

The festivities have included an opening concert by the Mexican pop-rock group Maná, and an open-air astronomy lecture on Friday that organizers hope will earn mention in the Guinness Book of World Records for the large number of telescopes involved.

Promoters of Juárez Competitiva say their goal is to bring as much as $10 billion in new investments to their city. They have been touting Ciudad Juárez’s declining homicide rates, still among Mexico’s highest.

Organizers of Tijuana Innovadora say that cities in other areas of Mexico that have been struggling with violence are now also hoping to hold similar events, including Monterrey, Morelia and Culiacán. Meanwhile, the organizers of Tijuana Innovadora are busy planning a second event next October.